MLB Official Info

MLB Executives

Frank Robinson

Executive Vice President of Baseball Development

Hall of Famer Frank Robinson serves as Major League Baseball's Executive Vice President of Baseball Development, having been appointed to the position by Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig in June 2012. In this capacity, Robinson oversees MLB's network of Urban Youth Academies as well as special events aimed at baseball development, such as the Civil Rights Game and the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. Robinson, one of six Executive Vice Presidents who report directly to Commissioner Selig, is also one of 14 members of the Commissioner's Special Committee for On-Field Matters, which reviews all facets of the game.

Regarded as one of the greatest players in Major League history, Robinson played in the Major Leagues from 1956-1976 with the Cincinnati Reds (1956-65), the Baltimore Orioles (1966-71), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1972), the California Angels (1973-74) and the Cleveland Indians (1974-76). A .294 career hitter with 586 home runs and 1,812 RBIs, the 14-time All-Star was a 1982 inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1966, Robinson won the American League's Triple Crown with a .316 batting average, 49 home runs and 122 RBIs en route to being named the AL's Most Valuable Player, an accomplishment that made him the first player in the history of baseball to win MVP honors in both the National League (1961) and the American League (1966). He remains the only player in history to win the MVP in both Leagues.

Robinson finished in the top five in MVP voting in four other years. He was a member of Baltimore's World Series championship clubs in 1966 and 1970 and played in the Fall Classic five times overall. He earned World Series MVP honors in 1966, when he hit two home runs with three RBIs in the Fall Classic. He also was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1956 and the 1971 All-Star Game MVP, hitting a two-run home run at Tiger Stadium. He topped 100 runs eight times, hit 30 or more home runs 11 times and collected 100 RBIs six times in his career.

While still active on the playing field, Robinson became the first African-American manager in Major League history in 1975 with the Indians. In 1981, Robinson then became the first African-American manager in National League history by being appointed to lead the San Francisco Giants. As skipper of the Orioles (1988-91), Robinson earned American League Manager of the Year honors from the Baseball Writers Association of America in 1989. He was the Assistant General Manger of the Orioles from 1991-95 and served as Director of Baseball Operations for the Arizona Fall League and Consultant to the Commissioner for special projects from 1996-1998.

From 1999-2002, Robinson was MLB's Vice President for On-Field Operations, overseeing player discipline, the pace of game program, uniform policy, stadium configuration and all other on-field matters. In February 2002, Robinson was named the manager of the Montreal Expos, guiding the team to winning seasons in 2002 and 2003. When the franchise relocated to Washington prior to the 2005 season, Robinson helped usher in a new era of Major League Baseball in the nation's capital, leading the Nationals for their first two years. Robinson rejoined MLB as a Special Advisor for Baseball Operations matters from 2007-2009. He became a Special Assistant to the Commissioner from 2009-2010 and then served as Senior Vice President for Major League Operations from June 2010-February 2011.

In 2005, President George W. Bush honored Robinson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded "for especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." During 2008 Civil Rights Game festivities in Memphis, Tenn., Robinson earned the MLB Beacon of Life Award, bestowed upon an individual whose life embodies the spirit of the civil rights movement.

A native of Oakland, Calif., Robinson attended Xavier University in Cincinnati.